Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators Ecological integrity of national parks Suggested citation for this document: Environment and Climate Change Canada (2017) Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators: Ecological integrity of national parks. Consulted on Month day, year. Available at: www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/environmental- indicators/ecological-integrity-national-parks.html. Cat. No.: En4-144/21-2017E-PDF ISBN: 978-0-660-08476-3 Unless otherwise specified, you may not reproduce materials in this publication, in whole or in part, for the purposes of commercial redistribution without prior written permission from Environment and Climate Change Canada's copyright administrator. To obtain permission to reproduce Government of Canada materials for commercial purposes, apply for Crown Copyright Clearance by contacting: Environment and Climate Change Canada Public Inquiries Centre 12th floor, Fontaine Building 200 Sacré-Coeur boul. Gatineau, QC K1A 0H3 Telephone: 819-938-3860 Toll Free: 1-800-668-6767 (in Canada only) Fax: 819-938-3318 Email: [email protected] Photos: © Thinkstockphotos.ca; © Environment and Climate Change Canada © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, 2017 Aussi disponible en français Ecological integrity of national parks Page 2 of 17 Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators Ecological integrity of national parks October 2017 Table of Contents Ecological integrity of national parks indicator ................................................................................ 5 Key results .......................................................................................................................................... 5 More information ................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. Data for individual parks ................................................................................................................. 7 About the indicator .............................................................................................................................. 8 What does the indicator measure ................................................................................................... 8 Why is this indicator important ....................................................................................................... 8 What are the related indicators ...................................................................................................... 8 Data sources and methods................................................................................................................. 9 What are the data sources ............................................................................................................. 9 How is this indicator calculated ...................................................................................................... 9 What has recently changed .......................................................................................................... 10 What are the caveats and limitations ........................................................................................... 10 Resources......................................................................................................................................... 10 References ................................................................................................................................... 10 Related information ...................................................................................................................... 10 Annex ................................................................................................................................................... 11 Annex A. Data tables for the figures presented in this document .................................................... 11 Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators Page 3 of 17 List of Figures Figure 1. Ecological integrity status and trends of ecosystems in 41 national parks, Canada, 2016 5 Figure 2. Ecological integrity status and trends of ecosystems in 41 national parks by province and territory, Canada, 2016 ...................................................................................................................... 7 List of Tables Table A.1. Data for Figure 1. Ecological integrity status and trends of ecosystems in 41 national parks, Canada, 2016 ....................................................................................................................... 11 Table A.2. Data for Figure 2. Ecological integrity status and trends of ecosystems in 41 national parks by province and territory, Canada, 2016 ............................................................................... 11 Ecological integrity of national parks Page 4 of 17 Ecological integrity of national parks indicator Ecosystems have integrity when their native species, landscapes and functions are intact.1 The ecological integrity of national parks is assessed by monitoring representative components of major park ecosystems, such as forest, freshwater and wetlands. It is a key measure of the condition of our national parks. Key results • Of the 115 ecosystems in 41 national parks2 that were assessed, 54% are reported to be in good condition, and another 33% are in fair condition. The remaining 13% are in poor condition. • Most park ecosystems are stable (89 of 115, 77%), 14 have improving trends, and 12 have declining trends. Figure 1. Ecological integrity status and trends of ecosystems in 41 national parks, Canada, 2016 Data for Figure 1 Note: Park ecosystems may include forest, freshwater, wetlands, grasslands, shrublands, tundra, coastal/marine and glaciers, depending on what is present in each park. Source: Parks Canada (2016) State of Canada's Natural and Cultural Heritage Places 2016. 1 Parks Canada (2013) Science and Conservation – Ecological Integrity. Retrieved on November 9, 2016. 2 Akami-Uapishkᵁ-KakKasuak-Mealy Mountains, Sable Island and Nááts'ihch'oh National Park Reserves and Auyuittuq and Qausuittuq National Parks did not report ecological integrity indicators in 2016. Rouge National Urban Park has also not yet reported. Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators Page 5 of 17 Key measures are selected to represent each ecosystem's overall condition. Each of these measures is compared to threshold values and assigned a score. The scores within each ecosystem are then averaged together to generate an ecosystem rating. Most of the ecosystems that improved were freshwater systems (8 systems). Most of the declining ecosystems were forests (5 systems). Ecological integrity trends by ecosystem type, Canada, 2016 Improving Stable Declining Total Ecosystem (number of (number of (number of (number of ecosystems) ecosystems) ecosystems) ecosystems) Forest 0 26 5 31 Shrublands 1 1 0 2 Grasslands 0 4 1 5 Tundra 1 16 0 17 Freshwater 8 24 2 34 Glaciers 0 0 1 1 Wetlands 1 8 2 11 Coastal/marine 3 10 1 14 Parks Canada identifies the major stressors of national parks3 as being the following: • Habitat loss • Habitat fragmentation (for example, building of roads and trails) • Losses of large carnivores, such as wolves • Air pollution and acid rain • Pesticides • Invasive alien species • Over-use Parks are interlinked with their surrounding ecosystems and, despite their protected status, they are affected by many of the same pressures we place on the environment in general. Climate change and the long-range movement of pollution affect ecosystems inside and outside parks. The ecosystems respond differently to stressors, and they also respond differently to management actions. Some management actions may take many years to show results, particularly for slow-growing vegetation. 3 Parks Canada (2015) Science and conservation – Stressors. Retrieved on November 9, 2016. Ecological integrity of national parks Page 6 of 17 Data for individual parks Figure 2. Ecological integrity status and trends of ecosystems in 41 national parks by province and territory, Canada, 2016 Data for Figure 2 Source: Parks Canada (2016) State of Canada's Natural and Cultural Heritage Places 2016. Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators Page 7 of 17 About the indicator What does the indicator measure The indicator summarizes the status and trends of ecosystems within national parks. The condition of ecosystems within national parks is evaluated regularly using a series of monitoring measures that are designed to track biodiversity and natural processes within those ecosystems. These measures are rolled up to produce ecological integrity indicators 4 for up to 4 major ecosystems in each park. Each ecological integrity indicator consists of a rating (good, fair, poor) and a trend (improving, stable, declining), based on monitoring results and knowledge of ecological systems. These are summed to provide an overall picture. Why is this indicator important The Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators (CESI) reports on the ecological integrity of national parks as an indicator of the condition of Canada's protected areas. National parks represent a third of the protected area in Canada. Parks Canada manages ecosystems to improve or maintain ecological integrity. Management plans systematically address opportunities for improving the integrity of park ecosystems. Funding for ecological restoration is prioritized for